The Right Thing
by demondreaming
Summary: I can't want Cat. I can't want this secret. I just want to be me again, I just want to do the right thing. I just want to be normal. Cori.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is so embarrassing. I don't own it, okay? Please stop asking. I'm going to cry.**

**/**

"Cat, we can't keep doing this."

Her lips meet mine briefly before my hands find her shoulders, pulling her away. She looks at me in confusion, eyebrows turned up. "Why not?"

I struggle to find the reasons I'd written down last night, so convinced of what I'm stuttering out now. "Because it's wrong. We just keep sneaking around, lying to our friends. It's not right, Cat."

She kisses me again, my hands sliding off her shoulders, Cat's fingers soft on my cheek, and I feel my will waver. Her kisses have always left me weak. Ever since the first time.

It'd been at a party. Well... that's not quite accurate. It'd been after the party. Cat had been dropped off with me at my house, to sleep over. We'd both had too much to drink, me because of Jade's stupid dares and taunts, and Cat because it just tasted like candy to her. She said it made her fly, made everything swim. Made her feel like a superhero. She'd been too pumped to go to bed, tugging at my hand, dragging me upstairs to my room like it was her house. So we'd played Go Fish with an old deck of cards stashed in my desk drawer. Trina's last birthday present to me. We hadn't been very good at it, too busy laughing and swaying to remember the rules. It turned into Snap, and Cat's hand had lashed out, covered mine, and the laughter had died away. And then what was fun, and easy, had this tension in it, this waiting, until Cat leaned in, and I matched her, and our lips met so softly. Whether it was the alcohol, or whether it was just us, it didn't feel strange. It felt like something that'd been meaning to happen for a long time, it just needed a chance. The rest of the night was made of snapshots, of soft kisses and fumbling hands, and soft, bare skin. Goosebumps raised and gasps given. It turned into a mistake in the morning, an accident, and I'd peeled Cat's hand off my waist and felt my head throb with memories. But I couldn't stay away from her. Those memories were stuck in the forefront of my mind, every time I looked at her. And being around her was like being drunk again, wanting to touch her, wanting to trace the paths my hands remembered.

Eventually I broke. Kissed her and said I couldn't help it, I had to, _I need to, please_, and Cat had panted, and whispered the same words back to me, fingers trembling on my face. It became a secret. Something that started off slow, and rolled into something big, every time I touched her, every time we kissed. It grew and grew, happened more and more often. I could barely look at Andre, at Robbie. At anyone. I'd wonder if they'd see this big thing I was hiding, these invisible marks where Cat had touched, smeared all over me. Whether they'd smell her in my skin, in my hair. The breezy remarks to Cat, like nothing had happened, like nothing was different. Half the time they died in my throat, and I'd be left staring at her, wondering why. Why did this keep happening? Why was it a secret? Every morning I woke up, it'd be with a conviction to stop it. It wasn't right, it wasn't what I wanted. I was sick of hiding, of sneaking around. Today would be the day I'd stop it, I'd drag it out into the open, and make everyone look. Make everyone see what I was. What we were. But fear always got the best of me, and today turned into tomorrow, and then the next day, and then the day after that, and Cat's kisses kept me weak. And my feelings changed.

Every day it seemed like a bigger mistake. A crime I kept committing, an addiction I kept feeding. Every moment I could snatch alone with her, my hands would run over her skin, crawl inside her shirt, trace over her bones and commit them to memory. My lips would meet hers, and there'd be desperation, there'd be longing, there'd be too much and never enough and more, more, _more_. Cat would whisper my name like a question, and I'd answer it with kisses, with touches, with the throb of my heart and the goosebumps on my skin.

And soon those snatched moments weren't enough. _Can Cat come over to study? Can Cat come for dinner? Cat, Cat, Cat_. I was such a good friend, such a close friend. It made my parents so happy to see me have a friend like Cat. She's simple but well-meaning, she'll be a good influence, she's good for me. And then Dad would ruffle my hair, and I'd feel dirty, I'd feel filthy. Lying to them, making them feel that false happiness, making myself out to be that innocent kid they remembered. What a good girl they raised, what an honest girl. It made me sick. What a sick girl, what a liar. I'd grab Cat's hand as soon as she got there, tug her up the stairs impatiently, and it'd be her back to the door as soon as she made it in my room. Not even time to say hello, to ask a question. When I was with her, it made me forget. It made me forget how I felt about her, about this, when I wasn't with her. I'd strip her shirt off, unzip her skirt, and tell her to be quiet, to not make a sound. She was my secret, my indulgence, my guilt. She never asked questions, never resisted any decision I made. I'd tell her everytime to never say a word about this, to never tell a soul, and she'd nod, her hands on my waist as if to keep me in place, so she could remember what it was she wasn't supposed to tell.

I'd drown myself in her skin, in her body, in her lips. Make flushes rise in her cheek, make her breath come short and quick, make my name spill out of her lips and stain her skin. Mine. She was mine. And I was hers, and we were both something quiet and held close, and no one, _no one_ knew about it. In that moment, in that time, it'd be something I was fiercely proud of, yet as soon as it was over, as soon as Cat's skin was beaded in sweat, and she was panting and trembling, the shame would set in. Another pound added to this overweight secret.

I was torn into pieces, but Cat? I don't think she was ever happier. Before it wasn't enough, before I started inviting her over, started vomiting lies, our moments together were soft, were sweet and slow. I'd start off quick and desperate, and Cat's hands would stroke my arms, my back, calm me. She'd hold me as I gasped, lips pressed to her shoulder as her hand worked inside my pants, stroked me to a shuddering climax. She'd kiss me gently, little, short kisses, like whispered conversations. It was before I was ashamed, before I realised how wrong it was. How wrong it is. She smiles at me as soon as she sees me. Her face lights up, and it's not out of lust, it's not out of that secret. She's just happy to see me. Tori, her friend, her lover, her whatever. Just Tori. That smile always makes me sick. Makes my heart lurch and stumble and trip over that secret that's always in the way. I don't think it ever hovered over her like it does to me. She holds it like something precious, when it's crushing the breath out of me. She's always so happy. It used to be enough to make me happy, too.

My resolution falters, my hand finding it's way to her cheek, pulling her closer, tongue running over her bottom lip, tasting her, eyes shut tight, as if that could me from seeing, from remembering who it is that I'm kissing. It takes all I have to break it, to push her away. To rip her from me, stop her crawling in my brain. "It has to stop." I pant, shifting away from her slightly.

"Then we'll tell them. We'll tell everyone, Tor. We don't have to be a secret." Cat kisses me again, and there's desperation in it, pleading, and her voice is soft and shaking. "We can be together."

I shake my head, letting out a heavy breath. "No."

Cat blinks at me, pulling back, hands retracting to ball in front of her chest. "No?"

I grit my teeth. "I don't... I don't want you. This... this whole thing was a mistake Cat. We never should've... I don't want you."

I turn away from her, perched on the end of my bed, nails digging into my thighs to steel my resolve, the pain keeping my mind clear. I can't let her sway me this time, can't let her hot hands and soft lips change my mind. "It's over Cat. Whatever this is, it's over."

"Tori..." Cat's voice scrapes over my skin like a grater, rubbing me raw. It's hurt, and scared, and I want to just turn to her and hold her, kiss her until things are alright. But it's me who's hurting her. This never should have happened, this never should have started. It just becomes more and more clear to me, every time this happens. Every time I can't keep away from her. Every time I push her back and kiss her like she's the only thing keeping me alive. It's not right.

"Go." My voice is low, because that's the only way I can keep it steady, can keep it from shaking, and I just want to break, I want to give in, and hide myself in her arms and let this be okay again. But it was never okay. I just fooled myself into thinking that. I don't want her. I shouldn't want her. I'm not gonna have her be this secret, this sick addiction that I keep giving in to, just to feel her in veins, in my brain again.

"Tori, please." I can hear the tears in her voice, hear it shaking and sloughing apart, breath like gossamer, ripping and tearing as it escapes her. Her hand touches my back tentatively, like she's not sure it's really me, her cheek pressing between my shoulderblades, searing through the thin material of my tank top. "_Tori._" It's barely a whisper. A desperate plea, spoken into my skin. It seeps in and reaches my heart, tugging at it like a curious child, and I have to bite my lip to keep from choking.

"It's over." The words escape in a let out breath, an exhale that's been held since that first kiss. I can feel her tears wet the material, stick to my skin, hot. And then she's gone, pulling away with a sob, and I'm left with that warmth fading from me, her tears quickly chilling along my spine. I hear my front door slam, wincing at the noise, and it's like the sound of finality. It's over. I can bury this secret now, dig down deep and cover it with earth. And Cat can be nothing and I can stop, can _stop_ feeling this way.

I can't have her in my head, in every thought. I can't have her in my heart, tugging all the strings and making it ache, ache so much. I can't have her in me. At all. I want it to be like it was before that night, before that stupid, stupid night. I want to be myself, stop being on edge, stop lying, stop sneaking around. I don't want her hanging over me, some guilty little mistake, relived at every opportunity. I don't want her, I can't want her. I just want to be normal, I just want to be me.

"Tori honey, are you okay? Did you and Cat have a fight?"

Mom knocks at my door, her voice concerned, and I swallow this lump in my throat, this boulder that's weighing on me.

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna go to bed." My voice comes out steady, almost normal, and it doesn't seem right. It doesn't match the pain in my heart, the pressure on my lungs, the stinging of my thighs where my nails are still digging in. My hands feel like claws, and I pry them free, try to spread them out, open, but they're shaking, so I ball them into fists instead. And I should go to the bathroom, I should brush my teeth and change my clothes and just get Cat off me, once and for all. Scrub every trace away until she's just a name. Just a memory, of a girl I used to know. Once Upon A Time without a happy ending. But instead I just lay back, crawl up to my pillow and curl up on my side, in the dark. I should feel lighter, I should feel better. I ended it, finally. I snapped Cat off like a rotten branch from a tree, cast her aside. This secret doesn't have to be secret anymore. I can just say... No. No, I can't. I thought it'd be easier, that I could just say it, that I could tell everyone, that I could tell my mom. That all my dirty little lies would be washed clean by the truth. But I can't. I can't even say it to myself. _I fucked Cat_. I bring my knees up, make myself as small as I can. She's gone, but this secret is still rotting in me. Still bleeding into my heart, seeping through my veins. I ripped her off like a bandaid, but the wound hadn't healed.

I don't want Cat. I can't want Cat. I've turned away from her, said no. This... how I feel is gonna fade. I don't want her. I don't want _this_. I can't, I won't. I whisper the words over and over until they cover the sound of my heart, the sound of my brain, pounding it's denial. I can't tell the truth, I can't. I can't dig into this wound and make it bleed, make everyone see. But I can push it down, I can hide it, I can pretend it never, ever happened. Just press rewind and destroy the tape. Back to that time, back to before I even met Cat. Back to who I was, who I want to be again.

And I realise with a start, just before I slip into sleep, that I'm whispering _sorry, _over and over, my cheeks wet with tears I don't remember shedding. I wonder if it's Cat I'm apologising to, or if I'm apologising to myself, or my mom, or to Andre, or to all the people I've lied to. But it was the right thing to do. It had to be the right thing. I have to believe that. I have to.

I can't want Cat. I can't want this secret. I just want to be me again, I just want to do the right thing. I just want to be normal.

/

**A/N: GASP, ANGST?**

**FROM ME? SHOCKING, I KNOW.**

**The Germans have such a beautiful word for it... _angst~_**

**Truly a magnificent language. Not like this English, which is just clicks and grunts and general shedding of clothes.**

**I guess what I'm saying is... review. Or take your top off. Means the same thing in English, really. ;D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Victorious, much like a trained monkey butler, does not belong to me. Yet.**

**/**

Cat's fingers run through my hair, stroking the brunette locks, teasing them out as my head rests in her lap, eyes closed. Afternoon light spills over us, striping my skin in warm lines.

"Why are you scared?" Cat's voice is soft, barely above a whisper, tones lilting, and I open my eyes, staring up at her, fingers twitching on my stomach.

Her gaze is focussed on where her hands comb through my hair, splaying it over her knee. "I'm not scared."

She smiles briefly, chocolate eyes warm, a lock of red velvet hair slipping free from her shoulder. "Your hair is so pretty, Tori."

I pull away from her, half sitting up and turning, Cat's fingers suspended where my hair pulled away, still frozen in mid comb. "Why did you ask me if I was scared?"

Cat tilts her head, hands lowering, pink tip of her tongue running out over her lips. "I didn't." Her shaped eyebrows dip down, arrowed in confusion. "You said that."

"I'm not scared of you, Cat." I say sincerely, a hand raised to her cheek. I frown as I notice it shaking, fingers trembling, and I still it against her skin. "I'm not scared of you." I repeat, voice breaking, a line of panic racing up my spine. "I'm not." It comes out as a desperate whisper, a torn plea, and Cat's looming above me, eyes closed, and I'm shrinking down, down, tears welling in my eyes until they spill over, clothes ballooning around me. And the voice that comes out is a child's voice, stained with tears. "I'm scared of in here." I look up at her, image blurred by hot tears, finger prodding at my chest. "There's something bad in here." Terror prickles my shoulderblades, and I sob loudly, cheeks wet, nose snotty. "I'm scared, Cat, I'm afraid." I open my eyes, hands reaching out, but there's only darkness. She's gone, and I'm left alone with this desperate panic, this susurrant thing that's clambering out of my heart with chill fingers. She left. She left me alone.

I slip to my knees, a short fall, sobs wracking my tiny body, the fear that only a child feels gripping me in it's claw. I cower as a cold voice whispers in my ear, bony fingers lifting a lock of hair away. "_What are you scared of?_"

I jerk awake, gasping, eyes feeling hot, rolling onto my side and spilling out of bed onto my feet, adrenaline pouring through my veins. I feel my heart start to slow as I wake up more, sweat beading my skin. Just a nightmare. I touch a hand to my chest, where the dream me did, before shaking my head and taking it away. It makes sense I'd have a nightmare. I broke Cat's heart yesterday.

I feel a sharp pang. The dream makes sense now. Cat was gone in it. But she didn't leave, I drove her away. That's the only truth to it The rest was just standard nightmare fuel. I calm myself with the thought, taking deep breaths. It's just because of yesterday, that's all.

I sit back on my bed, closing my eyes for a moment. It's no wonder I'd have nightmares, I can still smell her here. In my sheets, in my bed. On me. I've been bathed in her all night long. I stand again, crossing to my door, hand twisting the cold handle. I'm not sure what time it is. I've beaten my alarm, and from the sounds of things, no one's up yet. It's light enough to see, though. I think for a moment about going back to bed, but the nightmare's still fresh in my head, and the thought holds no comfort. I just need to have a shower, to scrub Cat off my skin.

The hot water sprays my bowed head, running rivulets over my bare skin, warming the chill flesh. I should feel better, shouldn't I? I should feel good that I've ended this thing with Cat. I should feel lighter, freer. I shouldn't still feel this tenseness tugging my shoulders back, this weight bowing my head. Maybe it'll just take time. I did the right thing, I know I did. I think I did.

I sigh, running a wet hand over my face. Maybe I was too harsh. Maybe I should've been gentler with Cat, been sweet. Maybe I could've explained better, why this just wouldn't work with her. I snort, then I would've just ended up the way I always do, hand between her legs, lips pressed to her neck. I'd tried the gentle approach time and time again. I never made it beyond Cat's first silencing kiss. She's a drug, and now I'm going cold turkey. My stomach rumbles at the thought of cold turkey, and I grin at it, warm water pattering over the smooth muscle. I'm feeling better already. It was for the best. I just wish I'd treated Cat better. It would've been pretty hard for her. My grin fades as I remember her tear-soaked face pressed between my shoulderblades, plaintive hand on my spine. She's sensitive, I know that better than anyone.

I step out of the shower, wrapping the white fluffy towel around me, shivering as the cold air caresses my skin. But at least I'm clean now. I make my way back to my room, closing the door behind me. I sit on the edge of my bed, hair dripping over my shoulders, hands gathered in my lap. I should make sure she's okay. I reach out for where my phone rests on my bedside table, unlocking it with a click. Cat's picture smiles out at me as I scroll to her in my contacts, starting a new text message.

_Are you okay?_

I chew my lip, letting the phone slip back onto the wooden surface of the table. Better get dressed. It's funny how mundane this all seems. When I think back to yesterday, when I think back to last week, all I remember is Cat. Every activity is stained with her. Waking up next to her, arm hooked around her waist, sneaking her into the shower with me, finger held to my grinning lips as she covered herself, little smile on her face. Slipping her towel away from her, fingers playing over her shower warm skin, her lips wet against mine.

I shiver as I slip into a bra, hands reaching behind my back to do it up. She's everywhere in my head. But I've set things right now. This is how it's supposed to be. The time with Cat, the stolen moments... I can't deny they felt good, I can't deny that... that I hold them close to me, deep within my heart. But they weren't right. They were secrets, they were lies. It felt good, it felt so good to be with her, but it was wrong. I know that. If it wasn't wrong, it wouldn't have been a secret, I wouldn't have wanted to hide it.

The message tone of my phone sounds as I shimmy into a pair of jeans, hopping over towards the bed, working the material up my thighs. I pick up the phone, display lit up. It's from Cat.

_I'm fine_.

Two words. They're reassuring. Or... they should be. I guess hearing anything less than a paragraph from Cat in response to any question is worrying. Guilt tugs at me, and I set the phone back down, running a hand through my wet hair. I'll see her today at school, anyway. I'll talk to her, I'll sort everything out. It's what I do. Tori the Problemsolver. I just hope I can solve this. I don't want Cat to hate me. That's never what I wanted, things just got out of hand. If I could just go back, back to before we kissed, before my hands slipped under her shirt, and her fingers worked between my legs. Back to when things were simple, and there wasn't a painful pang every time I thought her name, a recurring realisation that Cat was a secret now.

I skip breakfast, quiet in the car with Trina as she swerves and beeps her horn on the way to school. She glances over at me finally, lips pursed. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

I look up from where I'm staring at my phone, startled. "Hm? Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You're- _Hey, get off the road! -_ kinda quiet. Did you have a fight with Cat?"

"Why would you think that?" I tug my bag closer, using it as a shield.

Trina shrugs, glancing over at me again. "I don't know. She left kind of suddenly yesterday. That's all. Woke me up from my nap." Trina scowls, leaning down to rifle in her bag for lipgloss. I've accepted my fate every time I get in the car with her. Somehow we stay alive, and everyone else does too. It's the entire reason I believe in miracles.

Trina strides off into school after she parks the car, turned almost diagonally across the lines. I pity the people who'll try to park next to her.

I look at my phone again, hand wringing the strap of my tan leather bag, slung over my shoulder. I guess the only thing I can do right now is go to my locker, and hope Cat goes to hers. I hate how this is my life now. How I don't know what to do without her. All I'm thinking of right now is waiting for her. Things haven't changed at all. I thought- I guess I thought it'd be different. That if I just broke it off, everything would go back to normal. That she'd be out of my brain. Maybe it'll change after I talk to her. Maybe I can clear things up, get some real closure. Maybe if I just make sure she's okay, then I can start to get over her.

I realise at some point that I'm just staring blankly into my locker, hand frozen on the door. I jump as a voice booms beside me. "What are you scared of?"

"Wh-what?" I turn to the side, eyes wide, my heart beating wildly, but it's only Andre, eyebrows furrowed worriedly.

"Is there a spider or something in there? You looked kinda freaked out."

I force a shaking smile on my face, still unnerved by the repeated phrase from my dream. "N-no, I'm fine."

Andre narrows his gaze, eyebrows raising. "You sure? You've been acting kinda weird, lately."

I laugh, shutting my locker door and hoping the noise will cover the falseness in my voice. "I'm fine. Just the usual life-flashing-before-my-eyes that happens every time Trina drives me to school."

Andre chuckles, and I feel my shoulders relax, the adrenaline that flooded my heart fading away.

"Have you seen Cat?" I ask, glancing around.

He nods, lifting a hand. "Sure, she's just over there." He winks at me. "Go get her."

I give him an uneasy smile, turning away. Has... has Cat been talking? Does he know? What if everyone knows? What if this is Cat's idea of keeping us together? Maybe that was all she took from our little talk, that I was sick of this being a secret. Maybe she thinks if everyone knows, then we can be together. I swallow hard, that adrenaline surging back into my blood, and I try to stop my hands from shaking, clenching them tight. I don't need any more reminders of that dream. It feels like everyone's looking at me as I approach Cat's turned back, red velvet hair spilled over her shoulders. I remember I used to brush it to the side, and kiss in between her shoulderblades. She'd always make this soft sound when I did that. It made me melt.

"Hey Cat." I raise a hand, sketching an awkward wave as she turns, grin spreading across her face.

"Hey Tori!" She shuts her locker, turning to face me fully, my eyebrows digging down in confusion. Maybe she is fine. She looks like there's nothing wrong at all.

"Um, can we talk?"

Cat giggles, glancing around. "We are!" She spreads her hands in a _ta da! _motion.

I let a flicker of a smile touch my lips, heart pounding hard in my chest. "I mean... in private. In the janitor's closet."

Cat tilts her head, smile fading, before nodding, and I take her hand almost automatically, that smile springing back onto Cat's face as I do so.

I shut the door behind us, keeping my back pressed against it and taking a deep breath. As hard as the talk with her was yesterday, I get the feeling today's going to be even harder. "Cat, about yesterday..."

Cat's eyebrows furrow down, before a look of understanding spreads across her face. "Oh! Right, I'm sorry I slammed your door, Tori. I think I woke Trina up." She frowns before grinning again, flexing a bicep. "I guess I don't know my own strength!" She giggles, laughter fading as she realises I'm silent. "What's the matter, Tor? You look scared."

"I'm not scared!" I flinch, the words coming out louder than I intended, echoes of that dream still messing with my head. "No, I'm just... are you okay? You seemed pretty upset after our... talk, yesterday."

A look of confusion steeps on Cat's face. "What talk, Tori? We just watched a movie. You said we couldn't hang out on the weekend... is that what you mean?"

Now it's my turn to feel confused, brain churning. Why is she pretending nothing happened? Did I really hurt her that much? Maybe she just wants to pretend that nothing's changed. Maybe she's trying to pretend I never hurt her at all. It doesn't make any sense to me. "No, about... about _us_."

Cat frowns, looking lost. "Wh-what about us? Tori, you're confusing me."

I lower my voice, glancing around even though I know we're alone. "When I said we were over. When I said this was wrong. Don't you remember? You... you kissed me." I try desperately to read her, to get some flicker in her eyes that she knows what I'm talking about, but all I'm met with is blank confusion.

"I... I kissed you?" Cat's head lowers, lips pouting, brow arrowed in thought, helpless bewilderment on her face. "Tor, I don't remember. Do you mean the night after Jade's party? That was months ago."

My eyes widen, shoulders hunching forward, hands curling into claws, like if I can just speak to her closer, if I can just direct the words straight into her brain, maybe she'll remember. "No, yesterday. Don't... don't you remember?"

Cat shakes her head, gnawing on her lips. "Tori, all we did yesterday was watch a movie, and then I left. We never kissed. Did you have a bad dream?" She peers closer at me. "I dreamt I had a rabbit once. I named him Mr. Snuffles, and I taught him tricks and everything, but when I woke up, he wasn't real. I mean... I thought he was, until everyone told me he wasn't. Maybe you just had a dream?"

I run a hand through my hair, turning away, eyes fixed into space, staring but not seeing. "No, it... it was real. It had to be. I don't- it's not- you really don't remember?" There's a note of desperate pleading in my voice as I turn back to her, mind rebelling against me, ripping through the memories of yesterday, looking for some misinterpretation, some mistake that I've made. But I remember it so clearly. It wasn't a dream.

Cat shakes her head, looking woeful, hand tugging at a ruby lock of hair. "I don't remember, Tor. I'm sorry."

"I- I've gotta go." I manage to choke out, flinging the door open and slipping out, feet feeling uneven as they pound over the linoleum, like I've forgotten how to walk. Cat has to be playing a game, she has to be in denial. But she's not _that_ good of an actress, is she? I stop in front of my locker jerkily, fingers plucking at the lock. What's going on? I don't- this isn't making any sense. I came to school today with a plan, to finally finish this thing. To stop all the sneaking around, all the lies. But now I'm not sure who's lying. Cat seemed so innocently bewildered, like she honestly couldn't remember. I don't think she's lying, but the alternative doesn't make any sense. Maybe it _was_ all a dream? I shiver, remembering my dream from this morning. Maybe this is what I'm scared of.

All of a sudden, the right thing seems a lot less clear. I've got to find out what's going on. I _know_ I talked to Cat yesterday, I _know_ she kissed me. But why is she lying? Why is she pretending she doesn't remember? This is making my brain hurt. I feel like I'm in some mystery movie, caught up in the plot, waiting for someone to come untwist it for me.

"_Tori!"_ I jump, turning to see Jade glaring at me. "I've been calling your name for like ten minutes!" She spits, irritation on her face. "Are you coming to class or not?"

I manage a little nod, letting the lock of my locker go, feet stirring into motion. I just need to think this over. I just need to figure this out. It'll make sense, it has to. I just don't know what's going on. Things seemed so clear this morning. Maybe _this _is just a bad dream. Maybe I never woke up at all. I chew my lip to the point of bleeding, trailing after Jade. I just need to sit down. I just need... I just need to stop.

/

**A/N: While writing, I realised there was two ways I could take, and, being high on life and various fumes that wafted into my house, I pushed the centipedes away and went with the second option. The one that isn't predictable. The one that's confusing, and head scratching, and at one point foot tapping, for some reason.**

**So please review, and if you know something to keep centipedes away, especially fictional ones THAT WON'T STOP BUGGING ME. Get it? BUGGING me? HAHAHA.**

**I'll go now. I'm sorry for that.**


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